A Peanut Butter Twist on the Classic
These delicious, not-too-sweet, peanut butter rice krispie treats are a perfectly chewy, bordering on gooey (without being messy), and satisfying salty-sweet snack. They have a rich candied peanut butter flavor and just the right amount of saltiness. If you enjoyed my fluffernutter cookies, you’ll love this new peanut butter and marshmallow creation!
This recipe is simple, but it wasn’t so simple to create. I thought that adding peanut butter to my classic rice krispie treats recipe would work, but it wasn’t that easy. I ended up taking some notes from my scotcharoos and adding corn syrup to get the perfect (non-crumbly) texture and rich peanut butter flavor. Trust me, it works!
Why try my recipe:
- Has tiny pockets of chewy marshmallows–so fun!
- Packs perfectly in lunchboxes.
- Includes tips for preventing hard rice krispie treats.
- Quick and easy–just 15 minutes from start to finish!
What You Need
A few key ingredients make these perfectly peanut buttery rice krispie treats:
- Butter. European-style salted butter is my preference here. European butter has less water than regular butter, which results in a better flavor. If you can’t find it in your local grocery store (I can usually find Kerrygold brand in mine) you can use regular butter and still get great results.
- Light corn syrup. I had trouble getting the peanut butter flavor just right with these; too much peanut butter and the texture was off, and too little made for a faint peanut butter flavor. Corn syrup ended up being the perfect addition for the perfect texture and flavor! Remember, this is NOT the same thing as high fructose corn syrup.
- Peanut butter. You can use creamy or crunchy peanut butter–just make sure it’s not the “natural” kind that separates! I’ve had readers complain on a number of my peanut butter recipes (my peanut butter fudge, buckeyes and peanut butter frosting, to name a few!) that natural peanut butter makes an oily mess 🙁
- Sea salt. To bump things up a notch, sprinkle your treats with sea salt after spreading them into the pan–yum!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Them
- Cook the butter, corn syrup, sugar, and salt in a pot over medium-low until the butter melts and the mixture is smooth.
- Add half of the marshmallows and cook until they’re about half melted, then reduce the heat to low.
- Add the peanut butter and vanilla and stir constantly until the peanut butter melts, then remove from heat right away!
- Add the remaining marshmallows and cereal and stir until combined, then press into a greased pan. Let cool completely before cutting.
